(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a monoski for snow, and to the particular binding used with the ski for securing a skier's feet in fore and aft relationship.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Surfboarding is a popular recreation, in particular along the California coastline and Hawaii. In surfboarding, the surfboarder is supported on an elongated board or platform, with his feet spaced apart and at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the board. Surfboarding requires a keen sense of balance and rhythm and a surfer must have unlimited ankle movement to maintain his balance on the surfboard in wave riding.
In recent years, skateboarding has become popular, particularly with those in their teens and early twenty's. The action of the skateboard is somewhat akin to that of a surfboard. A skateboard floats, so-to-speak, being supportd by trucks located fore and aft, to each of which are mounted two wheels. The skateboarder stands on the skateboard, taking a stance similar to a surfer on a surfboard, with his feet spaced apart and at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the skateboard. A skateboarder, like a surfboard rider, must have a keen sense of balance and rhythm and unlimited ankle movement to maintain that balance.
Over the last severl years, downhill skiing has become an ever increasingly popular form of recreation. And some skiiers who have become proficient with conventional two runner skiing have ventured on to the challenge offered by monoskiing. In the case of two runner skiing, each skier's boot is supported by, and is attached to, a ski in fixed location on the ski by a releasable binding; the binding providing the skier's boot in longitudinal alignment with the ski, and fall line. The conventional ski binding holds the ski boot bottom or sole, which is rigid and is in general provided with a flat surface, in contact with the planar top surface of the ski, and maintains the boot in a low profile to the bottom or travelling surface of the ski. The downhill ski boot is stiff and, as it extends above the skier's ankle, provides unity of movement between the ski, foot, and ankle.
A monoski, in general, is a single ski or runner provided with one or more platforms for supporting both of a skier's boots. These platforms can be of various constructural configuration as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,685,846; 3,802,714; and 3,929,344. As shown in these patents, the platform supports on the ski are provided with two pairs of releasable ski bindings fixed to the platform in side-by-side arrangement. This arrangement places the skier's boots, as with two runner skiing, in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the ski, and the fall line.
A somewhat different monoski than those shown in the above-indicated patents is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,204. In that patent there is disclosed a monoski on which releasable ski boot bindings are provided, fore and aft, to place the skier's feet at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski. Thus, the skier's stance is somewhat like that of a surfer or a skateboarder. While the ski itself is somewhat different than the usual downhill ski, e.g., its width is at least as great as a ski boot length, the ski bindings disclosed for use with the ski are the commercially available Spademan binding. These ski bindings maintain the skier's boots in contact with the top surface of the monoski as usual, and, as conventional ski boots are used, do not permit the skier to have freedom of ankle movement, as is needed in the case of surfing and skateboard riding. Accordingly, the skier does not get the same action on this monoski as a surfer in wave riding or a skateboarder in skateboard riding.
More recently there has become available a so-called "ski board, " i.e., a runner of particular design, to which can be attached a skateboard. This is accomplished, in general, by removing the skateboard wheels from the trucks, after which a ski board is attached to each skateboard truck. While the performance of this particular skiing device is satisfactory to a degree, the performance attained is not totally satisfactory. It is somewhat difficult to adjust the trucks to turn easily, and still not feel sloppy, to achieve the desired sensation while "skateboarding" on snow.